His Darling Little Angel
by RyansKid
Summary: A father has to make the difficult decision to become a Big Daddy or not, and the more disturbing choice of offering his daughter up to become a Little Sister.
1. Chapter 1

"This is Doctor Yi Suchong. Today is Thursday the 5th of February 1959. Performing interview on Big Daddy candidate designate 2A. Can you please state your name for the record sir?"

He remembered looking at the Asian man across the table from him. His eyes were dark and seemed to be larger than normal behind his thick spectacles. Something about this man made him uneasy.

"Uh…Evan McColloch."

"Thank you. Now Mr. McColloch, what is it that you do here in Rapture?"

"I'm an engineer and inventor."

"Anything of note you've created?"

"I'm not sure how that's relevant…"

"Mr. McCulloch I will worry about what is relevant. If you must know, Mr. Ryan is hesitant to have the more gifted minds go through with the process. Now the question still stands."

"Well Suchong…"

"Dr. Suchong if you'd please Mr. McCulloch."

Evan McCulloch was a patient man. In his line of work you had to be. It took months of trial and error to design and create something new. But the _doctor_ sitting across from him was causing his patience to wear thin.

"Well…_Doctor_ Suchong, the answer is yes. I designed every security measure in the city. Cameras, turrets, drones…everything."

"Ah very good Mr. McCulloch. Though I've always found work with machines…simple."

Evan felt his fists clench and his molars start to grind against each other. When McCulloch had talked to Ryan he had promised him the interview was just routine. That what McCulloch was proposing ensured his inclusion into the Big Daddy program.

"Now Mr. McCulloch…why do you want to become a Big Daddy?"

"Have you been outside of Point Prometheus Doctor? You been down to Neptune's Bounty? Taken a stroll through Cavanaugh Park?"

"I can't say that I have Mr. McCulloch."

"Yeah well I wouldn't recommend it Doctor. The people down there they…God I don't even know anymore. They're all so spliced up on Adam that they're barely even human anymore. I mean Jesus Christ, I took my daughter to play in Arcadia last week and I saw two men jump a woman cause they thought they had some damned Adam on her."

"So you think it is too dangerous for you?"

"No. It's about my daughter."

Evan's darling little girl, Annie Lynn. She was sitting outside, playing with her jacks. She was only six years old. McCulloch regretted ever coming down here. Ryan came to him in London, offered him and his daughter a new life after his wife had been killed during the Nazi's bombing of the city. And it was good for a long time…but not now. Now your neighbor was as likely to say good morning as he was to slice your damn throat to get some Adam.

"Ahh yes…your daughter. That brings us to your very intriguing proposition. You are willing to volunteer you daughter into the Little Sister program correct?"

"Only if I get to be her Big Daddy. That was what Ryan promised me."

"Of course Mr. McCulloch, of course. You actually present me with a very interesting opportunity."

"Meaning?"

"Well you see, I'm having trouble getting the protection bond to imprint on Big Daddy's. They simply won't take to the Little Sisters. I've theorized that the bond between a parent and their offspring is founded in genetics."

"So you want me and Annie Lynn to be your guinea pigs?"

"Oh no, no, no Mr. McCulloch, please don't think of it in such repugnant terms. If my research with you and your daughter proves successful then you will be helping so, so many Little Sisters."

McCulloch had seen Little Sisters before. None of them were walking around the city as of yet, but Ryan had commissioned a literal maze of shafts only they could access going all throughout Rapture. Then there were the photos a research assistant leaked to the newspaper. Little girls with grey skin and glowing eyes, dirty dresses stained with the bright read of Adam. That hadn't gone over well for Ryan, and neither did the bad publicity following the mysterious disappearance of the reporter and the researcher.

Evan had thought about it for awhile. He had gotten on his knees and begged God or Jesus or anybody to give him some sort of sign. Just give him a shove in the right direction. He wondered what his wife would have thought…if she would hate him for what he was about to do.

But what he saw in Arcadia almost made his decision for him. McCulloch would be damned if he was going to let that happen to his little girl. Her sweet, cherub face stomped in by some bastard spliced up to his eyeballs and desperate to get some Adam, or worse the victim of one of the horrible plasmids being cranked out by Ryan Industries.

Anything would be better than that.

At least this way, if they went in together, he would be there to protect her.

"I don't care about other girls. Just mine. Understand?"

"Yes Mr. McCulloch…I do."

"Alright then. Am I in or not?"

"You do understand Mr. McCulloch, the process…its irreversible."

"I know."

"And it's very, very…painful."

"I know."

"Well then it is settled. If you would come with me, Doctor Tenenbaum will take your daughter with…"

"Wait! Let me say goodbye. Please."

"Very well…make it quick."

McCulloch walked into the other room where his beautiful little girl was waiting for him. Her red hair shining in the electric light, she looked up and smiled a smile so innocent it would make an angel feel ashamed.

"Hi Daddy!"

"Hey there big girl! Come here for a second."

"Daddy…why are you crying…"

As his tears rolled down his face and onto his daughter green and white polka dot dress he turned away. He couldn't bear to look at the perfect little angel sitting on his lap. He was about to sell her life away. But he had to didn't he? McCulloch refused to splice up, wouldn't touch the stuff. Odds are he'd end up dead and his darling little girl would be left on her own. He had to do this.

"I'm…I'm fine Annie. I just wanted to give you something."

He took the gold chain from under his shirt and unclasped it. Inside was the only picture he had of his wife. The only picture to survive the bombs. It was a picture of him, her, and Annie. She was just a baby in the picture, but she looked every bit as beautiful as her mother.

"You know what this is don't you baby?"

"That's your locket with mommy's picture in it!"

"That's right! And now it's your locket."

He watched as her little mouth dropped and her eyes got wide. He slipped it around her neck and clasped tight. He tiny finger ran along the gold heart before opening it to look at the picture inside.

"Thank you daddy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her head into his chest. This was going to be the last time he ever held his daughter. He hugged her as tight as he could, pulling her close and stroking her hair. As another tear hit her forehead she looked up and wiped them away.

"I love you daddy."

"I…I love you too Annie. Wait here, I'll be back soon ok? We'll go get ice cream!"

"Ok!"

He couldn't do this. He would do whatever he had to in order to protect his little girl. But he wasn't going to damn her to a life as one of those little monsters.

"Suchong! Suchong I changed my mind. I'm not doing this. Tell Ryan I'm sorry but I can't do that to Annie."

"I'm sorry Mr. McCulloch…but you've already been approved. I'm afraid you no longer have any choice in the matter."

"Wha…"

Evan heard the crack of his skull as he was hit from behind. His world was a mix of white hot pain and spinning darkness. He felt hand lift him up, dragging him away from the door.

"Ann…Annie. Annie!"

He tried to struggle, to wrench himself free. But the more he fought the heavier the hot flow of blood down the back of his neck became. He heard her scream. He heard his beautiful little Annie Lynn scream before everything went dark.

That was the last sound Evan McCulloch would hear as a human being.


	2. Chapter 2

Evan McCulloch swore on his wife's grave that he would never splice up. Never in a million years would he do something that could affect his mind. He didn't drink. He didn't do drugs. Evan had tobacco one time…smoking a cigar with his father in law after his wife gave birth.

When Fontaine Futuristics and Ryan Industries started to crank out what seemed like a new plasmid each week McCulloch didn't even notice. And while the men that worked for him were pouring themselves cups of coffee from across the room or lighting a cigarette with their fingertips, McCulloch would shake his head.

All those men are dead now. At least any human part of them.

So it's ironic that Evan now found himself in the hands of Doctor Suchong, the man who was responsible for so many of the more terrifying plasmids in Rapture.

"Mr. McCulloch, I am very sorry to tell you that the next three days of your life are going to be excruciatingly painful."

As he slipped in and out of consciousness Evan caught bits and pieces of what Suchong said. But one thing he could clearly make out was pain. Agonizing pain that racked through his whole body. God how he hoped Annie would forgive him. How he hoped his wife could forgive him.

"You see, we have to remove your flesh before injecting you with the right plasmids to augment your strength and agility and steam sealing you into your new suit. Usually we wait until after we have taken out your larynx and replace with the harmonic chords the other Big Daddy's use to communicate, but well…after your smug attitude during out interview I am rather looking forward to hearing you scream."

He had never screamed so much in his life. Not even when his wife had died and he had cursed God and the angels above, when he had stood for hours yelling at the night sky had he screamed so much. As Suchong and his lab assistants peeled the flesh from his bones strip by bloody strip he wondered if Annie was alright. If she could hear him. If something just as horrible was happening to her.

After a few hours McCulloch couldn't scream anymore. Nothing but hoarse rasps of air and guttural grunts escaped his lips. Then he heard something. It sounded…it sounded so beautiful. Like choirs of angels singing down to him. Calling him.

'_Come with us Evan...'_

'_No more pain here…this way…'_

"Doctor Suchong he's convulsing. We're going to lose him."

Evan saw a bright light in front of him. One so bright he had to shield his eyes. There in the light he saw a silhouette, one that looked so familiar.

'_Evan darlin…it's ok. I forgive you. Stay strong now my love. For our daughter…I love you'_

"Nh…No…NO!"

"Quickly you imbecile, give it to me! Give it to me god damnit!"

McCulloch felt a pain in his neck. He tried to crane his head to see what it was, but he was finding it hard to move. Something was happening to him. Then the pain came back. He thrashed about on the operating table, unable to even think from the God awful agony that now wracked through his body. Suchong had injected him with a concentrated mixture of plasmids.

Every bone in McCulloch's body was breaking, stretching to fit the specifications of his new genetic cracked and shattered and splintered, each time coming back bigger and denser than the last until finally he convulsed so hard that his spine was bent in two. His neck dropped down low at the shoulders giving a hunchback appearance.

His muscle mass grew at an exponential rate and his heart became too large to fit in his chest. As he looked down at the exposed organ now throbbing outside of his chest he began to see a thick black carapace growing over where his skin used to be. It looked almost like a scab but dark and shiny like the body of an insect. And then Evan could see the floor. He must have fallen. But wait, he could see the wall closest to him. And over his shoulder. He reached a armored hand up to his face and felt his eyes, now not just two but seven or eight.

"Hurry! Scalpel!"

If McCulloch's eyes hadn't been rolled far back into his skull from shock he would have been able to see Suchong cut out his larynx and replace it with a new modified voice box specifically for Big Daddy's. The pain from Suchong's quick procedure was nothing but a blip on the radar.

"Your fired…all of you! Get the fuck out!"

Evan tried to say something. To tell Suchong he was a madman. But he couldn't hear the sound of his own voice overtop a whale singing somewhere. Damn whales were always interrupting . He tried to yell it to Suchong but the damn thing just would shut up.

"Hush now Mr. McCulloch. It is almost over, you should be very proud of yourself. You are ensuring Rapture's survival. Now I'm going to spare you the ordeal of steam sealing you into your suit. I don't believe in anything as silly as a soul Mr. McCulloch, but I'm sure you do. I want you to know that with this last injection…your losing yours."

A week later Suchong was working hard in his lab. He had brought in his two subjects, one Big Daddy and one Little Sister, and was going to test the final plasmid that would hopefully forge an unbreakable bond between the two. Suchong chuckled at that. These two once had such a bond, but now one was a mindless brute and the other a brainwashed little monster.

"Well McCulloch if this works I want to thank you."

"Papa Suchong, can me and Mr. Bubbles go and play after this?"

"Yes, yes I don't care just shut up."

Suchong injected the plasmid into the Big Daddy, ignoring its groan of discomfort. Suchong had made sure to code each and every one of them so that they would never harm him. He waited. The Big Daddy should have instinctively gone to the Little Sister to interact with her…but nothing.

"Clinical Trial Protector System Plasmid Lot 225 for client Ryan Industries. Very frustrating day. I just can't seem to get the Big Daddies to imprint on the little brats. The protection bond is just not forming…

"Papa Suchong!"

"Get away…maybe if I modify the genetic sequence to…"

"Papa Suchong!"

"Shush…shoo get away…to allow for…"

"Pa-pa Suchong, pa-pa Suchong, papa Suchong, papa Suchong, papa Suchong…"

"Get away from me you filthy little shit…"

As his frustration got the better of him Suchong didn't notice the Big Daddy reach his hand out for the Little Sister. As Suchong smacked her dirty little face something happened deep inside the Big Daddy. Like everything in the world was shouting protect, defend, love.

Suchong was satisfied with the girls tears, her whimpering…that's when the Big Daddy let out a low aggressive groan. The menacing drill on his right hand beginning to whirl.

"Wh…What are you doing?"

Protect.

"Get back…get back!"

Defend.

"Arggghh!"

Love.

"Mr. B? Mr. B!"

The Little Sister rushed toward the Big Daddy and wrapped her tiny arms around his leg. The Big Daddy detached his drill, leaving it pinned to the table along with Suchongs corpse. He looked at the Little Sister…his Little Sister…a drop of Suchong's blood dripping down her cheek.

As he kneels and wipes it away she giggles, her red hair almost orange in the artificial light. He sees the glint of something gold around her neck. He remembers something like that from a long time ago. What was it called?

"Come on Mr. Bubbles! Let's go find some angels."

As his Little Sister skips out of the room the though quickly leaves him. He hurriedly follows the child, her green and white polka dot dress flowing behind her down the hallways of Rapture.


	3. Chapter 3

"No, no, no Mr. Bubbles! Like this…"

The Big Daddy watched as the little girl hopped on one foot down the hallway, carefully avoiding the cracks in the tile. Her massive guardian watched closely, all the while keeping an eye out for any danger to his ward with his other eyes. Things like time didn't have that much meaning to Big Daddies. Of course he knew when he was supposed to fetch his Little Sister, and she would tell him when it was dream time. But there was no way for him to know two months had passed since the death of Suchong.

The two months were uneventful for the Big Daddy. Nothing had tried to harm his Little Sister. To him most everything looked the same, though even he noticed the increasing number of corpses. But as of yet enough Adam was still floating around the city that citizens weren't desperate enough to tangle with any Big Daddy.

"Now you try Mr. Bubbles!"

The protector let out a low rumble of apprehension as he lifted his foot and jumped forward. The hallway rattled as the Big Daddy hooped slowly down the hallway.

"Go Mr. B! Go!"

Inside his helmet the Big Daddy's mangled mouth contorted into what could have been mistaken for a smile. A common misconception the people of Rapture had, and perhaps even those that created the behemoths, was that Big Daddies were nothing but mindless drones. This simply wasn't true.

All Big Daddies were capable of sentient thought. They were aware of themselves in a limited sense, they could rationalize, and feel deep attachment to their Little Sisters. But when a Little Sister was threatened the programming encoded in their DNA took over and they would fight and die to protect them.

In the Big Daddy's excitement he didn't notice the pool of water that leaked through a pipe in the ceiling, and as he jumped into it his momentum and slick water caused him to crash to the floor.

"Oh no! Are you ok Mr. Bubbles?"

His Little Sister ran over to him laughing gleefully and looked down over his helmet trying to peer through the portholes. The Big Daddy felt a twinge of familiarity. Had this happened before? No, not like this. There was sunlight before, and blue skies. Why couldn't he remember?

"Helllooooo? Mr. B? Anybody home?"

The Big Daddy groaned and shook his head. Time to get moving. His Little Sister would be calling for dream time soon. That's when he heard a scraping of metal from behind them. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a man walking towards them with a knife.

Defend.

Protect.

Love.

The Big Daddy sprang up abnormally fast for a creature its size, using its drill as a pivot he positioned himself between the man and his Little Sister. He felt her small frame cower behind him, clutching his coarse diving suit for protection.

Looking the man up and down, another part of the Big Daddy's programming kicked in. He used his eyes and began to analyze everything around him. Escape routes for his ward, threat analysis, his body prepping itself for combat by hardening the natural armor beneath his suit. He couldn't see any vent for the Little Sister to duck into, but the man looked unassuming enough.

"Argh! God damned monster! Why couldn't yeh been dead? I just want some Adam…God I need the fucking Adam!"

"Mr. Bubbles…I'm scared."

He put his hand down and comforted the girl, laying his hand gently on his shoulder. The Big Daddy could sense the danger, but all Daddies are programmed to not harm civilians until they actively tried to harm a Little Sister. The Big Daddy began to back up, taking his Little Sister by the hand he turned to leave.

"Don't you go nowhere! Don't you fucking go nowhere!"

A displacement of air blew the Little Sister to the ground. The Daddy turned sharply to find the man gone. He let out a quizzical rattle and stepped forward, checking all angles of the hallway with his eyes. The Big Daddy's brain had been uploaded with knowledge of all plasmids created by Ryan Industries and Fontaine Futuristics, but the Daddy couldn't find any information on whatever the man had spliced himself with.

Distracted by his scan of the corridor and his search for information the plasmid the Big Daddy failed to notice how far away he had gotten from the little girl. When he heard the rush of air again it was all ready to late. The girl screamed as the man snatched her up, disappearing in a cloud of flower petals before her guardian could reach her.

Defend.

Protect.

Love.

The Daddy craned his head and listened. Suchongs mixture of plasmids had heightened the senses of every Big Daddy to the point where they could hear frequencies high above what normal human beings can hear. Inside his head, deep under his programming, the Big Daddy felt panic. He had to find her.

"Ahhhh!"

It was close, very close. The Daddy turned in the direction of the scream only to be met with the iron all of Rapture used to erect walls. Nuts and bolts and rivets holding together an 8 inch thick plate of metal. The Big Daddy didn't know how many of the separated him and his Little Sister, and it didn't matter.

He lunched at the wall and began to run. He lowered his shoulder at each wall, ripping through it like tissue paper. He rambled through two rooms. Three. Four. The Big Daddy cutting a swath of destruction through the offices.

The man could hear the monster coming, coming this way. Rampaging through the rooms in a desperate attempt to reach the girl in time. The man wanted to run. It would be easy. Just leave. But he wanted the Adam so bad. He could still see some of it dripping from the corner of the girls mouth. As he tried to grab her she slithered under a table and out of his reach.

"Argh! Come here you little bitch! I'm gonna cut out yer stomach and drink the fucking Adam right out of it! Come he...God damnit!"

The Little Sister had taken the needle she used to harvest Adam from corpses and stuck it deep into his arm.

"Ugh..God please just give it to me. Please! Ple…"

Protect.

Defend.

Love.

The man was interrupted as the Big Daddy crashed into the wall. Before he could think the Daddy had wrapped its massive hand around his head. He tried to concentrate. Tried to will himself away, but the pain of the creatures hand squeezing its hand into a ball was too much. The last thing he thought was of how Rapture, the most beautiful place in the world, could have gotten so bad.

The contents of the man's skull oozed from between the Big Daddy's fingers. He ran a quick check of himself for damage. His right suit had a major tear on his right side he would have to stitch up and there was a small crack in the one of the portholes on his helmet. Aside from that all damage was cosmetic, a few dents and scratches.

"Mr. Bubbles!"

He knelt down and wrapped his arm around his Little Sister as she ran into the safety of his chest. Something about this felt so right to the Daddy. Again he felt as if all of this had happened before but he couldn't remember when or where. The girl put her hands on the Daddy's helmet and pulled it down to look.

"Don't ever leave me again Mr. Bubbles."

The Big Daddy let out a soft sweet cry of acknowledgment and scooped the Little Sister up in his arms.

"It's dream time Mr. B."

The Big Daddy sang a slow soft song as he carried the Little Sister through the empty corridors of Rapture.


	4. Chapter 4

"Whatcha think Rory?"

"Bout tanglin wit that Big Daddy? I think it's a terrible bloody idea. I been watchin that one fer days. After Harry nabbed his Little Sister the damn thing been on its toes."

The two splicers stood in the shadows watching as the Big Daddy lumbered down the hallways on his way to retrieve his Little Sister. It had been two week since the close call with the disappearing man, but nothing had tried to come between him and his Little Sister since then.

"Bollocks. Harry was a damn fool. He shouldn ta tried to take on that thing by hisself."

"Yeah well I don't think we should be tryin it neither Mick. Even wit that new plasmid I got."

"Come on Rory…we need the Adam."

"Fuck me…yer right. Alright listen here, go round up Charlie, Kullen, and Selene. Tell em we got a sweet little spot picked out fer an ambush and all we needs their guns. Tell Charlie we'll split the Adam wit em."

"But eh…Rory…couldn they just shoot us dead once we kill that thing?"

The splicer smiled to himself. He could feel the power of his newest plasmid coursing through his veins. Rory, Mick and Connie had gone down to the medical bay to look for Adam a few days earlier. They got ambushed by one of the freaks that walked on walls. Connie didn't make which made Rory good and mad since that was the only halfway decent piece of trim in this rust bucket, and she got slip from crotch to sternum. But the plasmid he had found more than made up for it.

"I'd like ta see em try Mick. I'd like ta see em try."

The Big Daddy slammed on the vent, signaling his Little Sister to come out. He turned and knelt down, waiting to feel her little feet on his shoulder. He made a cursory look around, scanning the hallway for any danger. He was always twice as careful now, making sure to keep a firm grip on her tiny hand unless has absolutely had to let go.

"Good morning Mr. Bubbles!"

The Little Sister hugged the cold metal helmet, her little fingers smudging the Big Daddy's portholes. He let out a short bellow and the little girl slid down his arm to the ground. As the child wrapped her hand around the Big Daddy's finger he began to think of where they had yet to go in search of Adam.

"Come on Mr. Bubbles! Let's go to the park!"

The Little Sister tugged at his finger leading him towards a small park. The Big Daddy looked at the sign above the opening. It read Cavanaugh Park. Once again the Big Daddy felt the twinge of familiarity. A nagging in the back of his brain like this had all happened before.

"Ugh, Mr. B! Come! On!"

The Little Sister tugged at his rough glove, gritting her teeth and grunting with every yank. The Big Daddy stared through the entranceway of the park. The small path faded into darkness and disappeared behind a small mound, and in the very pack of the park a massive glass window painted with a beautiful mural of children playing in the sun.

"Mis-ter-Bubbles! We have to find the angels!"

The Big Daddy let out a disapproving bellow and swung his head in the opposite direction in hopes she would listen. But the Little Sister's reply was a stamping foot and crossed arms. The Big Daddy was programmed to follow his Little Sister wherever she went, and as she stomped into Cavanaugh Park, obviously upset with her protector.

"Alright then lads…here they come."

"Rory…you sure bout this then? Like, you sure we gonna be able to keep the Adam from Charlie, Kullen, and Selene?"

"We will be if you shut yer bloody trap Mick. Now gimme that grenade."

The Big Daddy quickly caught up with his Little Sister and took her by the hand. She looked up at him and smiled, all frustration having been replaced by the total comfort of having her Big Daddy next to her. And the same could be said for the Big Daddy if he was not totally focused on scanning the area for threats.

"Look Mr. B…an angel!"

The little girl skipped forward and looked closely at the body. It was crumpled on the ground next to the massive window, the paint fading so that fish seemed to fly in between the children in the mural. The Little Sister went through the motions downloaded into her brain, readying her harvesting needle, the slug in her gut beginning to secrete the proper enzymes needed to produce fresh Adam.

"Wait a second Mr. Bubbles…this isn't an…"

As his Little Sister screamed the Big Daddy sprung into action. He rushed forward, his drill outstretched, and slammed it down into the splicer who was clawing at the little girl. As the drill ripped apart the insides of the would be killer the Big Daddy saw him clap his hands together and heard a pin drop to the floor.

"Fu…Fuck you then…"

The Big Daddy snatched the Little Sister up and turned away from the splicer, he held the girl tight and used his body to shield her from the blast. As the grenade went off he felt shrapnel puncture his suit, ripping into the thick carapace that covered his body. The things were quiet save for the trickle of water coming in from a now growing crack in the huge window behind him.

"Alright then let im have it!"

Bullets rained on the Big Daddy from all sides. The tactical computer in his head began to scan the area for anyplace the Little Sister could escape too. He saw a vent on the far side of the park and as he began to sprint for it he lurched to a halt. He saw the wires in front of him teeming with electricity. He couldn't run through them without risking injuring his Little Sister. The Big Daddy shoved the crying girl under a slide and motioned for her to wait.

As he turned around a bullet smashed through one of the portholes on his helmet and pierced his eye. He let out a cry that seemed to shake the very metal walls of the park. The Big Daddy dashed for the nearest muzzle flash. He grabbed the man by the arms, snapping them in two. The machine gun he was holding fell to the floor, spraying bullets into the woman next to him. A massive metal boot to the chest crushed all the life out of the man, ending his miserable life.

"Ah fuck, fuck, fuck. This is gone ta shit Rory. Im outta here!"

"Get back here you yella little shit!"

The Big Daddy lifted the body of the dead woman and hurled it at the man. It struck him with a resounding thud and sent him careening into the trap wires, electrocuting him. The Big Daddy then quickly turned on the last man.

He was standing in front of the window, several grenades floating around his head. The Big Daddy analyzed the situation. He knew the plasmid was telekinesis, and that those grenades could certainly end the Big Daddy. There was maybe six yards between himself and the man, a distance he could close quickly, but maybe not fast enough to keep the pins from exploding

"I know what yer thinkin you big stupid bastard. Yer trying to figger if yer quick enough to get over here fore I pull these here pins eh? Well why don't you…"

The Big Daddy jumped forward and slammed his fist into the splicer's chest, crushing his sternum and sending fragments of bone tearing into his lungs. The man tried to draw breath but only shallow choking sounds escaped from his throat.

The Big Daddy went back to the slide and put his hand out, hauling the Little Sister into his arms. He was rocking her back and forth and singing softly in hopes to calm her when he heard the explosion. The splicer had managed to pull the pins from the grenades. The Big Daddy turned and watched a monstrous crack run its way up the window, water starting to burst forth. The Big Daddy began to run for the vent, his Little Sister screaming at the crack spreading like a spider web up the window.

"Mr. Bubbles! Don't leave me! Please don't make me go! I don't want to go!"

He had reached the vent and shoved the little girl inside just before he heard the window finally give way. He let out a short shout and pushed the Little Sister further into the vent. Finally the girl turned and started to flee.

The massive wall of water slammed into the Big Daddy, who was desperately trying to keep the water from flooding into the vent. Everything went blurry for a moment as salt water filled up his diving suit, water running over the gills provided to him by the twisted concoction of plasmids he was first given.

As the water settled, the Big Daddy looked into the vent. A glint caught his eyes, and as he put his hand into the vent he pulled something small and shiny out. It was the locket his Little Sister had worn for what seemed like a lifetime.

Cavanaugh Park was filled with the long sad cry of a daddy who had lost his little girl.


	5. Chapter 5

The Daddy stood there in the half lit darkness for a long time.

His suit was damaged and his genetic programming was screaming at him to go and get it fixed, but the Daddy just stood there. He stared down at the little shiny necklace in his hand, the fraying picture of a man, a woman, and a baby and he moaned. What was worse is that it looked so familiar, like he should know who they were, and this made him bellow louder and louder until he was driven into a fury. He pounded the vent his Little Sister had disappeared into, thrashed against the steel walls, slammed the massive drill he called a hand into the floor. Even working against the water each blow was terrifyingly powerful.

After a time the rage had passed. He put the golden chain into a pouch on his belt and headed for one of the many hidden stations Big Daddys used to repair and equip themselves. When Rapture was in it's infancy there was a plethora of men and women who would patch the suits of the divers responsible for the upkeep of the city, but as Andrew Ryan became more deluded he saw such people as simple and unworthy of being brought to his utopia. So it was set to the inventors and engineers of Rapture to devise a way to make these repairs automated and they did a brilliant job. The Big Daddy entered the bulkhead, waited for the room to be drained, moved into the next room and sat on the bench while his suit and helmet were attended to by a swarm of small robots.

When the repairs to his suit were complete his programming told him to pick up a rivet gun and go and look for areas to repair. That wasn't a diffcult at all, Rapture was dying. The soul of Rapture had died a long time ago but now it's body was going too. In four hours the Daddy found three repairs that required assisstance from another Daddy, and another three that never would have occurred if things were they before the fall.

None of this mattered to the Daddy though. Without his Little Sister he was just going through the motions, becoming nothing but a drone. Go here. Fix this.

Maybe that was the reason he didn't see the tentacle reaching from the darkness until it was to late for him to do anything about it. 


End file.
